Ailing woman is slain in hospital

Cops say husband killed ill spouse, attempted suicide

An elderly man fatally shot his ill wife in her hospital bed New Year's Eve, then turned the gun on himself, police said Tuesday.

Shirley Harrison, 74, was shot three times in the chest about 9:30 p.m. Monday in Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to police in the south suburb. She was pronounced dead at the hospital at 10:02 p.m.

Thomas Harrison's room was under 24-hour police guard, and Oak Lawn police expected to pursue charges against him when he recovers, said Sgt. Mike Murray.

"We're definitely going to look in that direction," Murray said.

Police said the couple were found in Shirley Harrison's room shortly after the shots were fired.

Hospital officials would not release details about the length of the woman's stay, but neighbors said she had recently been admitted after suffering a stroke.

Neighbors described the couple as friendly but quiet and somewhat frail. The Harrisons lived in a modest, second-floor condominium at 105th Street and Keating Avenue. A small American flag and a Christmas wreath with a red bow and a tiny Santa Claus hung on the banister outside their balcony Tuesday.

Shirley Harrison served as the condominium development's secretary several years ago, said neighbor Thomas Bogue. He said the couple had been seen less in recent years and that they seemed more frail.

"She used to play the organ, and I could hear it in my apartment," Bogue said. "She was just a really nice lady, but they kept to themselves."

Other neighbors said the couple seemed inseparable and private. Neighbors said they didn't believe the couple had any children.

"We brought their paper in for them every morning because they both weren't well," another neighbor, Jenny Ellingham, told CLTV News. In return, the Harrisons left a box of candy outside the Ellinghams' door on Christmas.

The shooting Monday appeared to be the second such incident in slightly more than three months at a Chicago-area hospital. In September Alex Paul shot and killed his ailing wife, Jaclyn, in Evanston Hospital after she was diagnosed with cancer and suffered a stroke that left her in a wheelchair.

Police said Paul had taped a note to himself saying he was distraught over his wife's illness.

A spokesman for Christ Hospital did not return repeated calls for comment Tuesday. However, he left a recorded message responding to the case.

"The domestic shooting that occurred on our campus on New Year's Eve was truly a tragedy," spokesman Mike Maggio said. "Our hearts go out to the family involved. Unfortunately, this was an incident that no amount of hospital security could have prevented."